BILL ANALYSIS
SB 857
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 857 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)
As Amended October 7, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
SUMMARY : This is the Judiciary trailer bill. It contains
necessary statutory and technical changes to implement the
Budget Act of 2010. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides for the following temporary (three-year sunset) fee
increases necessary to end the one-day per month closing of
trial courts and prevent additional layoffs of court
employees:
a) Increases the fee for filing a motion for summary
judgment from $200 to $500. This increase is projected to
generate $6.2 million in additional revenue;
b) Increases the fee for filing in the superior court an
application to appear as counsel pro hac vice (attorney's
from outside the state) from $250 to $500, require an
annual renewal of such application, and provide for half of
the pro hac vice application fee to be transmitted to the
state for deposit in the Trial Court Trust Fund. This
increase is projected to generate $800,000 in additional
revenue;
c) Adds supplemental fees of $20 and $40 to fees for first
filing papers in connection with specified civil
proceedings, and extends the moratorium on increases in
filing fees until July 1, 2013. These fees are projected
to generate $40.1 million in additional revenue;
d) Requires the Judicial Council to establish statewide,
uniform fees to be paid for appearing by telephone and
requires that each vendor or court that provides for
appearances by telephone to transmit $20 for each fee
received for providing telephone appearance services.
This fee is projected to generate $6 million in additional
revenue;
e) Raises the court fee from $30 to $40 until July 1, 2016
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and also establishes a moratorium on future increases of
this fee until the same date. This fee is projected to
generate $40 million in additional revenue; and,
f) Adds a $3 parking penalty for each offense where a
parking penalty, fine, or forfeiture is imposed. This
penalty is projected to generate $10.5 million in
additional revenue.
2)States the Legislature's intent that to the extent
practicable, access to court services for civil litigants be
preserved in the allocation of resources by and for trial
courts and that trial courts remain open to the public on all
days except judicial holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays, except
as specified.
3)Requires trial courts to notify the public and the Judicial
Council at least 60 days prior to the closing of any courtroom
or reducing the hours of clerks' offices during regular
business hours and requires the Judicial Council to notify the
Legislature within 15 days of the receipt of such notice.
4)Specifies that counties or processing agencies would not be
held liable for failure to remit to the state Controller
parking penalty fees collected pursuant to Government Code
70372(b) as long as the payments were deposited in a local
courthouse construction fund. This exemption would apply only
to the 2008 calendar year.
5)Establishes various methods to enhance the collection of debt
and improve recovery efforts including:
a) Strengthens existing authority and responsibility for a
comprehensive collections program of delinquent
court-ordered debt;
b) Provides for a one-time amnesty program for fines and
bail meeting certain requirements;
c) Clarifies authority related to discharge of
accountability;
d) Establishes an intercept on unclaimed property in
cooperation with the State Controller's office;
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e) Clarifies authority for enforcing court-ordered debt;
and,
f) Reduces the amount that the clerk of the court can
accept as forfeiture for certain infractions (from 25% to
10%).
1)Adds members (county public defender, city attorney appointed
by the Speaker of the Assembly, a private defense attorney,
and a district attorney appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules) to task force to evaluate criminal and traffic-related
court-ordered debts and requires the task force to make
specific recommendations to the Judicial Council and the
Legislature by June 30, 2011.
2)Makes technical revisions to the table contained in Government
Code Section 76000 subdivision (e) to reflect accurate
authority as exercised by each counties.
3)Authorizes the Judicial Council to inspect, review, and
perform comprehensive oversight and analysis of court
financial records and to investigate allegations of financial
impropriety or mismanagement. Also, requires the
establishment of a pilot program to audit six trial courts,
including review of all funds within the trial court's
administration or control and requires the auditing of each
trial court at least once every four years. Audit findings
and results are to be reported to the Legislature, the
Judicial Council, and the Department of Finance by April 1 of
each year. Additionally, establishes biennial audits of the
Administrative Office of the Courts.
4)Establishes a pilot program consisting of three courthouse
construction projects to assess the benefits and impacts of
requiring all subcontractors with bids in excess of $500,000
to pay for employee health expenses for Construction Field
Employees working in California; and giving two quality points
out of 100 quality points to a proposing construction manager
at risk that pays for employee health expenses for
Construction Field Employees working in California.
5) Requires the Judicial Council (with review by the Legislative
Analyst's Office) to conduct an analysis of the costs incurred
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by trial courts related to the default prove up process and
report on the different methods trial courts use in processing
filings related to the default prove up process, as well as
the revenue generated by these filings.
6)Urgency Clause. Declares this bill take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Analysis Prepared by : Joe Stephenshaw / BUDGET / (916)319-2099
FN: 0007192